13 February 2009 12:09
University of Copenhagen
What was probably the world’s oldest mute swan has been found dead in Denmark. This unusual example of Denmark’s national bird lived to just past the ripe old age of 40. The previous record for a mute swan was 28 years old.
The swan was found dead at Korsør Skovstrand on Christmas Day last year. It was ringed and its leg ring was sent to the Copenhagen Bird Ringing Centre at the Zoological Museum at The University of Copenhagen. The number on the ring was Helgoland 112851 and after checking their records, the centre realised that this was no ordinary dead swan. It turned out that the swan had been ringed on 21st February 1970 at Heikendorf near Kiel in northern Germany and that it was at least a year and a half old when it was ringed.
“This swan has lived an unusually long time, and the chance of finding another swan of the same age is practically zero” believes Pelle Andersen-Harild, Denmark’s leading swan expert.
He has ringed birds for the Copenhagen Bird Ringing Centre for many years. Oddly enough Pelle Andersen-Harild was also the person who caught and checked the now deceased record holder in February 1979 – also at Korsør. At that time it weighed 11.1 kg.
http://www.ku.dk/english/news/oldest_swan.htm
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